Moscow: Former Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos, now playing for Russia's Anzhi Makhachkala, has slammed the poor quality Russian football pitches.

"The infrastructure that lots of clubs have right now is deserving of better pitches, just as footballers have earned the chance to play on good-quality surfaces," the Brazilian veteran football player was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Carlos stressed Saturday the quality of the field "has a huge effect on the quality of the game," adding that it is impossible to show a team's real capability on terrible turf.

"Technical players, footballing artists, just can't work with the ball on bad pitches," he said.

Along with Carlos, many other football players also complained for the muddy, sleety surfaces they were forced to play on during the Russian Premier League season, which resumed March 3 after a winter break.

Striker Roman Pavlyuchenko from Lokomotiv Moscow even told local media that the pitches were only fit for rugby.

Carlos, who joined the Dagestan-based club in February 2011, was the first high profile player to join the club after Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov purchased Anzhi in January 2011. (IANS)